NATURAL ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Hollywood star Andrew Garfield presented "Hacksaw Ridge", an awards-tipped war drama directed by Mel Gibson, at a special screening in London. According to studio Lionsgate, the film tells the true story of Desmond Doss (played by Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of the Second World War, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. Doss was the only American soldier in WW2 to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honour. Garfield told Reuters that, despite the current political climate in the U.S., audiences seemed to be connecting with the film's themes of non-violence and compassion. The actor's turn as Desmond Doss is generating plenty of Oscar buzz and he's already garnered several high-profile nominations for the role. He was previously nominated for a Golden Globe and Bafta in 2011 for "The Social Network". "Hacksaw Ridge" opens in cinemas in the UK on January 27.

Climber Alex Honnold's death-defying ascent of El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park is taking him to the Oscars, where a film about his feat will compete for the movie world's highest honour

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: